jnshapiro

Maybe you should have invited her over to clear the place out? Found another one of those nasty little black widows. I was getting ready to bring the trash can back from the curb and there it was, right under the handle. Must have been an inch or 2 from my hand when I hauled it out the night before. I gotta do that in daylight! Oh, the spider didn't survive much longer.

That's a fantastic story about some true heros. Joel

The one I got is from Monster. You know, the folks that make those really good cables. Haven't had any trouble with the cell phone or reception. It just works. Course, I don't have any other way to get it to play in the car. Joel

The CD Player in my pick up doesn't work any more. The CD player on my home stereo is failing. So I thought it might be more convenient to get an iPod. I can hook it up to both. So I spent 2 days uploading all my CD's to the computer. Then I downloaded all the music to the iPod. It plugs into the stereo. I can use it on the car stereo via an FM Transmitter. All my music on one device! No more hauling around CD's. Just this one little gadget. Very convenient! This thing is great. Sound quality is excellent too. No offence to you Apple enthusiasts, but this time I think they've hit their "killer app."

You also have to forget about the result that you want (ie. I am going to win B division at the Nationals). The result isn't what's important. What's important is that you set a goal, work toward it, achieve it, and go on to the next goal. Going along with that mindset is to always do the best that you can on that day. If you always shoot at your best, then there isn't any way for negative thoughts to enter into your concious mind. There's a shooter here that I only can beat when he really screws up. I know that I'm not at the ability level YET when I can beat him. However, that doesn't stop me from striving to shoot at my best. My personal goals don't involve him at all. They don't involve winning. What I'm trying to say is that if your goal is to win and you don't, then you'll be dissappointed and negative thoughts start to enter in. If your goal is to shoot at your best, then whatever happens in the match result is what happens. You can't control the other shooters, only yourself. Winning is a by-product, not the goal.

I make it part of practice. If I'm practicing and call a miss, I'll make it up. That way I go through the same procedure at a match. What you do in practice is what you do at a match.

Well, I recently shot the best group I've ever shot. It was with a pair of Ruger Vaquero's that have had Shelin barrels installed. I was testing a new bullet that I've been considering for Steel Challenge. In order to make it as consistent as possible, each shot was drawn from holster. Draw, aim fire follow-through, holster. 5 shots from the left gun and 5 shots from the right side gun. It took me a long time to shoot this group as speed wasn't what I was testing. I suppose I should have used a ransom rest, but I don't own one and don't know anyone local that does. This was shot with 38 spl. 125gr bullets with Federal primers and 3.8gr of American Select. Velocity is a nice slow 740fps or so. Target was placed at 25 yards. This is the load I use for Steel Challenge. It measures a big 1 1/8 inches. Without the 2 flyers on the outside, it's 7/8 of an inch. I'm not sure you can call them flyers as it was probably me wobbling. Here's a link to the target: http://www.cowboybullets.com/DCB%20Graphic...BulletGroup.jpg This seemed like a good place to brag! Guess I'm out of excuses for missing a target on Pendulum Joel

I had a broken m-frame. They replaced it for $10 I think. Great service and reasonable turnaround. Joel

Michael, I assume you're going to be at the W3G World Cup in Piru? Looking forward to seeing you again! Joel aka Doc Shapiro

I'm staying with a friend. Not sure where he is yet though, I need to get his address! Who knows the hotspots down there? Or maybe we could meet at the range on Thursday afternoon?

Should we arrange for a meeting place and time so that the BE'ers can all say hi?

One more thought, as I had a similar problem. Do you practice on a plate rack or with targets the same size, distance apart, and elevation? If so you could be conditioning yourself to shoot when it's time to pull the trigger and not when you sights are on target. There is no faster or slower, only the speed at which you have sight acquisition on target. Joel

The Steel Challenge rule book says that cowboy dress is "encouraged" not required. Since the course of fire is 5 targets and has a maximum allowed time per run of 30 seconds, it might be beneficial to get a 2nd SA revolver to shoot this match. While I do shoot Cowboy and the dress requirements aren't real stringent (jeans, long sleeve button shirt, shoes/boots that aren't sneakers is enough), I also use my SA revolver for Steel Challenge. An SA to look into for USPSA type shooting is a clone of an S&W Schofield in 45 Colt. One of the S&W speedloaders is exactly the right size. Since it's a breaktop gun, it ejects all the empties at once. While reloading is probably not as fast as a swing out type DA, with practice I think it could be competitive, especially if the gun was modified to take moon clips! Hope this helps. Joel

My L10 gun started life as a run of the mill Springfield in 45 ACP. Since then I've changed a few parts: S&A Magwell Cimollini tungsten guide rod with plug and shock buffs One of the cylinder and slide hammer/sear kits STI disconnect SVI tri glide trigger with the short flat insert SVI titanium 3-prong spring New springs Bomars front and rear Grip tape grips 1.75 lb trigger pull with great lockup I think that's it. The gun shoots great. I don't see a need to change the barrel as it groups very well. My Cowboy revolvers started life as Ruger Vaquero's. They've had a few changes too! Shelin match grade barrel with taylor thoating and 11 degree forcing cone Hammer recut for a half-cock notch Trigger spur (the part that hits the sear notch) shortened to shorten the hammer throw and lock time Custom springs Oversize cylinder lockup bolt Oversize base pin Rear site notch widened and deepend Loading gate disconnect Timing set Eagle gunfighter grips Aluminum grip frame to change the balance Everything polished Trigger set to 1.75 lb. These guns are great! Today I shot a group (10 shots) at 25 yards off-hand that measured 1 1/8 of an inch. They're ready for Steel Challenge! Joel

Great post! This attitude you describe isn't just limited to IPSC/USPSA. I've seen it in other shooting games too. Those folks will either grow up or they won't last long. Joel

I'm a pipe smoker, and pipe carver. My tobacco's of choice are Escudo, Peterson's University Flake, Dunhill Light Flake, MacBaren Navy Flake, and there are many others that I enjoy on an occasional basis. I think I might have more pipes than guns! I better buy some more guns. Joel

I shot a match this past weekend and was shooting/moving quite a bit slower than I do in practice and at local matches, and I was a little more clumsy. I've come to the conclusion that I am having trouble taking my practice/local match ability to bigger matches. I have talked to a couple of shooters and they have suggested that I need to add some element of pressure/competition to my practice. So next time I get to the range, my partner and I will start putting small wagers on practice. Even if it's a nickle a run or who buys lunch. I know this is in my head. Any other suggestions to get past this? I estimate that it moved me from an easy 2nd to a hard 4th overall at the match this past weekend. Joel

Minor at 4.5. I'm gonna bump the load up to 5gr on the advice of Alliant and see what happens.

Thanks folks, I worked it out. I moved the location of the chrono so that the screens cast a shadow over the sensors. I also moved back a little farther and rechrono'd. I need to up my load a little. They just fall into minor. Oops.

The bullet checks out at .452 and the gun groups quite well. Maybe you're onto something with muzzle blast. I'll back the chrony up and give it another go. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm loading 185gr moly coated lead SWC's for my 45 ACP. According to Alliant's load data, 4.5 gr should get me around 950fps. Enough for major. So, I tried out the load. Doesn't feel to bad, certainly a lot easier on the wrists than factory. I chrono'd it the other day and got 1350! That's a lot more than I need to be shooting! OAL is within spec. Has anyone else had this happen? I e-mailed Alliant, but haven't heard back yet. I'm gonna cut the load to 3.5gr and rechrono. Not sure when I'll get the chance, but will do it next time I need to load up some ammo. Thoughts?

I'm totally at a loss. Course, I haven't seen a movie other than on satellite in I don't know how long.

It's possible that you're reacting to the clang of the bullet on steel and not transitioning to the next target after the shot breaks. If that's so, then gettin the bullet down there faster will speed up your runs.

MPSA, Maryland Practical Shooting Assn. http://www.mpsa.net/high.html

Clay, it'll be nice to meet you too! On Friday I'll be one of a few decked out in Cowboy type clothes and sportin a 2 revolver rig. Thursday I'll be wearking a "Western 3 Gun" shirt. It's a very challenging course of fire for a pair of Ruger Vaquero's. Look for me! I'm looking forward to meeting other BE'ers. I am pretty sure that we're here on a rather extended visit. I don't know when we'll be able to clear out of CA, but we do plan to. Depends on work. Joel